The Real Her
by Quirky Baller
Summary: Grace's immediate thoughts about her kiss and potential relationship with Zoë.


I had to. I'm sorry. Just, those FEELS MAN.

* * *

Grace really wished she could say that she saw it coming. She really wished it to be true. Truth is? She didn't. Sure, the choice of repeating 10th Grade Science may not have been her finest choice, but now, she stood on the beach. Wearing white. She never wore white.

She looked down at her outfit. Sure, the skull on her shirt counted for something. And what about earlier in the summer? Her hair, in pigtails! She never did that.

Then again, she never dealt with having Zoë Rivas as her lab partner. She never saw how smart Zoë was. How beautiful her eyes looked when she got into something. How her chocolate orbs would sparkle, even in the gloomiest of days (which there were more than she anticipated). She never saw Zoë as more than a customer, or more than a _friend,_ not until now at least.

She turned towards the six, dancing like it was going out of style. She quirked a smile at Novak and Matlin embracing, swaying more than anything. The Hollingsworth siblings were doing some weird waltz with the occasional laugh. Her smile softened at Zoë and Tristan spinning around, grinning like fools.

The same grin she received when Zoë retreated, telling her to think about the kiss for a week until school started.

Except, Grace wasn't sure if a week could cut it. It was either today, or two years. There was so much to analyze. Sure, she said that her lab partner was the one in love. She didn't mean it, did she?

Grace shook her head, the music slightly annoying, and moved further down the beach. Did she like Zoë? Hell yes. She recalled the girl's last words until she left, "You see the real me. The girl I try so hard to hide, and you like her." The real girl was the smart one, the funny one, the _vulnerable_ one.

From the get go, Grace knew that this girl was a hurricane. A force to deal with. She tried acting tough, she tried assuming control, but man did she have _balls._ Just wearing her feelings on a sleeve showed that, something Grace could never do. She knew it, just by how she tried to deflect the conversation before it took such a wonderful turn.

How would it work though? Grace knew she was attracted to Zoë. That was not hard. The girl was gorgeous. And straight. Until now? Or maybe she liked both sexes, all sexes, maybe one and didn't realize it until now? Was the date and kissing Miles just trying to figure it out? Did she kind of like him and herself?

Grace walked further down the beach, unsure of where to go or to think. She held up her fingers to her lips, the pleasurable tingle from the kiss still slightly present. As she felt the tingles, her stomach filled with butterflies. An odd, scary, and gooey sensation. For a second her mind wandered.

That warm hand fitting in hers. Being able to hold it whenever she wanted. All the wonderful banter and sarcastic remarks that they could trade while hanging out at Lola's. Kissing, oh the _kissing_ , that could happen. Figuring out how to track down two hostages, which included a mutual friend before things got worse?

Grace gave a dark chuckle at the last one, hoping something like that never happened again. The thought of losing Matlin and trying to stick it together for Novak was something she definitely did not want to think about.

Maya and Zoë though. They had much more in common than they'd admit. And yet, Grace never harbored a strong attraction to her blonde friend. Sure, maybe the fact that Novak still pined for her from afar, hostile distance prevented it. Yet the two were her opposites and she still held an attraction for only one of them.

 _One of them has stuff in common with you dummy._

The thought made her jerk in place, eye blinking, head shaking. Her mouth curled into frown and her face scrunched up. The amount of stuff Grace had in common with both her fellow juniors was pretty much the same. Yet-

 _Rivas saw you for you much faster and deeper then Matlin did._

"You see the real me. The girl I try so hard to hide, and you like her."

No wonder. The hacker smiled. They saw each other for who they were. She had opened up to the former TV star much faster than she did to Maya, Zig or Tiny. Why though? What made the arrogant, manipulative cheerleader so special? What made her fall for the type of person she swore she would try to stay away from?

"Hey."

Grace turned so quickly, she worried she'd have whiplash, startled at the sound of Maya's voice.

"What's up Matlin?" The blonde noticed the lack of edge to her friend's greeting and tried to pay no meaning to it.

"Zig and I were wondering if you wanted to join us." Maya smiled nervously, her foot tapping as she waited for Grace's answer. She turned around to see Zig smiling at her and her friend. She also saw Zoë look toward her with a small smile. Not at her, but _toward_ her, where the only person was... Grace, who looked at Zoë while contemplating her own reply.

Grace shot a wry smile and said, "Let's go Matlin. As long as you and Novak agree not to play too much tonsil hockey." She started walking toward Zig, leaving a blushing Maya.

As Grace walked towards the group, her eyes never left Zoë's. The sparkle she came to observe was on full blast.

Why did she fall for this girl. Zoë saw Grace's true personality on a level no one else had before.

 _She also let Grace see the real her._

* * *

I apologize if it feels rushed. If it does, I'll gladly go back and fix it up but I just had to write it. It wouldn't leave my heart until it was written.


End file.
